Portable can opener



April 29, 1930.

C. D. CUMMINGS PORTABLE CAN OPENER Filed April 9, 1927 Patented Apr. 29, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE cHARLEs D. oUMMINGs, R TULLY, NEW YORK, AssIeNoR oF TWENTY-RIVE PER GENT To LEo E. FULLER, or sYEAoUsE, NEW YoRx, AND EoRTY-NINE PER cEN'r To ALEXANDER E. FULLER AND CHARLES A. ALLEN, Born or PORTSMOUTH, NEW

HAMPSHIRE PORTABLE CAN OPENER Application' led April 9, 1927. Serial No. 182,385.

This invention relates to improvements in can, bottle and jar openers.

The main object of the invention is to provide means whereby the cover of a can may 's be removed by making a circumferential cut w tles and jars may be broken easily and without injury to the container or its top.

Other objects and advantages relate to the details and form of the device as will more fully appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: v

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a device of this invention showing in dotted lines a jar top in position for opening.

Figure 2 is a side view, partially in section, showing in dotted lines a can in position to be opened.

In the figures the same numbers are used in referring to any given part of my device.

The construction of my device will be readily understood from the following description:

The device may be made of an suitable material and finished or decorated 1n any desired way. Bottom plate 1 carries at its forward end a cutting wheel -2- revolvably mounted thereon by means of a pivot pin -3-, said wheel having a beveled cuttingedge 1i- The top plate -5- carries at its forward end a driving wheel knurled on its periphery -6- and revolvably mounted on a pilot pin -7- sufficiently long to project through a slot -8- in bottom plate -1- and hold the driving wheel -6 immediately beneath the bottom plate 1-.

The slot -8- is slightly wider than the diameter of the pilot pin -7- and sufliciently long to allow longitudinal movement therein of such pilot pin -7- for approximately twice its diametric length. The cutting wheel 2--is made with a hub sufficiently long to maintain the cutting edge 4 in a plane immediately beneath the lower face of the driving wheel -6.

The pilot pin -7- carries on its upper end a frictionally tight wing nut -9- to permit of manually revolving the driving wheel t6- 'Ihe upper plate -5- is provided with a slot 10 through which extends a pilot pin -11- having a diameter slightly smaller than the width of the slot -10- and with a head larger than the width of the slot. The pilot pin -11 has its bottom end fastened in bottom plate -1-. The length of the slot -10- is approximately the same as the length of the slot -8- and the diameter of the pilot pin -11- is approximately the same as the diameter of the pilot pin -7. The rear end of the top plate -5- is fashioned into an open hook form 12- into which is articulated the hook end 13- of the adjusting or actuating lever -14.

The adjusting lever -14-- is pivotally fixed to the bottom plate -1- by means of the fixed pivot pin 15-. The bottom plate is fashioned with a forwardly and laterally extending hook -16- adjacent to the pilot pin -15-. The upper plate -5- carries at its front end a laterally and rearwardly extending hook 17- of approximately the same size and shape as the hook -16-.

It will be seen that when the lever -14- is rocked upwardly (in Figure l) about its pivot -15- it will exert force against the hook -12- and carry the bottom plate 5- vforward, increasing the distance between the driving wheel -6- and the cutting wheel -2-, due to the fact that the cutting wheel -2- is stationary in the bottom plate 1- while the driving wheel -6- is carried forward with plate -5--, shaft -7- moving along the slot -8. In the same way the distance between the hooks -16- and 17- will be increased. Conversely by the opposite movement of the lever I4- the hook -13- of the lever I4- will engage with the hook 12- of the upper plate -5- and retract the plate -5- rearwardly and thus the distance between the driving wheel 6- and the cutting wheel 2 will be diminished, as will the distance between the hooks -16- and 17.

When it is desired to open a can, the lever -14- is actuated sutliciently to permit the insertion of the upper rim of the can between the driving wheel .-6 and the cutting wheel -2- as may perhaps be better shown in Figure 2. The lever -14 is then actuated to decrease the distance between the .5 two last mentioned wheels until the rim of .the can is gripped withv suflicient tightness so that'the can will revolve when the driving wheel 6- is revolved by means of the wing nut -9- thereby causing the cutting wheel 10 -2- to perforate the edge of the can and make a complete circumferential cut, thus removing the top.

When it is desired to open a vacuum sealed container, the device is actuated in the same way, the hooks -16- and -17- being inserted between the container and the container` top, as perhaps may be better shown in Figure 1. The distance between the hooks is then -decreased until the top of the container is suiciently raised to permit entrance of air with the consequent destruction of the vacuum. l

Altho I have shown and described a specific 'form and relation of parts as consti- $5 tuting an embodiment of this invention, I do not desire to restrict myself to the exact details of form or arrangement of the parts, as various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claim. I claim:

In a device of the class described, a plate having -a slot in one end, a cutting wheel rotatably mounted on the plate with its cutting edge adjacent the inner ,end of the slot, a second plate, a shaft journaled in the second Y plate, a driving wheel on one end of the shaft. means for rotating the shaft, a hook formed in the other end of the second named plate, means for slidably mounting the second named plate on the irst named plate with Y the shaft positioned in the slot in the first named plate and between the cutting wheel and the outer end of the slot, a lever pivotally mounted on the first named plate, a hook at one end of the lever articulatin with the hook on the second named plate w ereb the i pivoting of, the lever will move the driving wheel to and from the cutti wheel.

In witness whereof I have ereunto set my hand this 18th day of March, 1927.

CHARLES D. CUMMINGS. 

